Color is central to the design of my hand-crafted jewelry. A featured hand-blown glass or hand-made ceramic bead is combined with beads that complement and enhance its colors. Woven beaded bracelets and earring patterns are designed in Adobe Illustrator, using bead colors for my palette. I also hammer silver or copper into interesting shapes for earrings, and torch the copper for a color patina. The elements in a finished piece should work together harmoniously, but I like to add a visual surprise every now and then.

I am also a graphic designer and find jewelry making to be intuitive and rewarding. I often begin by sketching, then play with materials to create what I have in mind. A piece usually evolves, moving away from my initial idea to something suggested by the materials.

I shop locally for materials at Blue Santa Beads. At Bead Fest, a huge wholesale market, I look for my favorite bead artists, especially glass and lampwork artisans. I like to travel, looking for bead shops wherever I happen to be. Last September, I was in Venice, Italy, and took a boat to the island of Murano, where there are many glassmaking workshops. I brought back some Murano beads and made them into necklaces and earrings. You will notice the bright colors and gold or silver shining from inside the beads.

Lately, I have been making loom-beaded bracelets with tiny delica beads in delicious colors. The design idea is that the colors gradate toward the middle, where there are some sparkly beads.

I enjoy meeting the people who buy my jewelry. It is great fun to spend time making something, and then watch someone pick it up and try it on. Happy shopping!

Pure Scents Candle Company is a family owned and operated business, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. We have been making candles in Chester County for over 13 years!

Our natural 100% soy candles are made with American grown soy vegetable wax. We use essential and natural oils to blend our unusual scents. We use lead free, all cotton wicks. Every candle is hand poured in micro batches to ensure you burn a candle of the highest quality. Our candles burn clean, without soot, and last a long time.

All of this sets us apart from the rest. We have worked hard to earn our reputation for exceptional quality candles and outstanding customer service. Our customers support us based on personal experience and word of mouth. We love hearing that you love how your houses smell when you have our candles!

Because our candles are so gentle on our environment, we try to be the same in our business. We love pouring candles in glasses and tins that can be re-used as drinking glasses, vases and containers! We strive to source our supplies on American suppliers with an emphasis on Pennsylvania businesses!

In addition to selling at several local retail locations, you can find us selling at local Farmers Markets and at the Artisan Exchange in West Chester. Visit our website for more information at www.purescentscandlecompany.com. Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/purescentscandle and our Instagram is @purescentscandle.

Born and raised in Montgomery County, PA Barbara moved to Bucks County in 1991. Her love of nature and flowers grew from her mother’s love of gardening. Her interest in photography has been long standing but turned into a serious hobby and then a business 8 years ago. When her daughter began competing in horse shows Barbara learned the best way to calm her nerves was to focus on trying to get the perfect shot as her daughter and horse went over a jump. This developed into a serious love of photography. Her view is that life is so large and fast passed today that people sometimes don’t slow down and notice the small details that make nature so special. She tries to capture this in her photography for all to enjoy.

Barbara combined her childhood love of flowers and nature with photography to develop the style you see today. She loves to capture small nuances of nature that often go over looked. Drops of water on a petal, pollen on a leaf, beautiful stamens at the center of a flower, veins in a leaf and much more. She focuses on the details of each beautiful specimen. This has followed over into a currently developing body of shell & beach images. Once again capturing subtle images others may over look.

Barbara is a self taught photographer who has developed her skills by taking a few classes at the local community college, through classes Nikon offers and lots of practice. Her images use natural light and are not highly manipulated in post production. She travels to local arboretums, parks, nature centers, wildflower preserves and her own backyard to capture images to share with the public.

A friend talked me into taking a Ceramics class with her in High School. After spending the first hour of class pinching, rolling, and poking a ball of clay I had a very small bowl. I fell in love with pottery and have been playing in the mud ever since.

All Deramics Clay Studio pottery starts on the wheel. Decoration takes place at every stage of the process. It starts with what clay to use. Dark, light, speckled, colored clay or porcelain or a mixture for a marbled effect. Continues thru the forming process. Textures are added or throwing lines are left in place to give the glaze a place to play. Other areas are left smooth to not disrupt the flow of the glaze. Some pieces are carved, pierced or stamped. Colored slip or red iron oxide applied before bisque firing. After bisque firing, wax or red iron oxide may be applied before or during glazing. The pots are usually dipped in the glazes but glaze may be brushed, poured, drizzled, squirted, and splattered.

When I think the pieces are ready they are fired a second time to over 2200 F to allow heat and gravity to finish the pots.

Decades after High School and College I still love playing in the mud and look forward to spending all my spare time in the studio.

Moss + Brooke was started after a successful year of launching North Star Soap as my first business line. M+B is sort of the “big sister brand” of NSS and has a wide array of pure soy wax candles that use phthalate free fragrances, and various high quality skincare products. Lots of time is spent choosing the perfect fragrances and essential oil blends that fit our brand vision. We love relaxing in mother nature and botanical gardens, therefore many of our scents are botanical inspired. We are excited to join Crafted again this year!

Welcome to my painting studio. I’ve taken over one of the bedrooms in my home as my painting studio. It has two windows that face a wooded , peaceful yard and the ceiling slants a bit on one side. Sometimes I play the radio, often to classical music.

I have three stations or areas in my studio. The first on the left is my Watercolor Area. It has a big old wooden drawing table from art college days. There is also a stool that I painted like a watermelon and a small hot pink metal trash can my high school friend delivered bagels from NYC in.

On the right is my Oil Painting Area. It has an old aluminum easel from college years, a tv table, and a really ancient card table which was discarded and found in the Howard Pyle Studio.

On the far right is a long table that had been in my Mother’s garage. I use this to prepare canvases , frame paintings, and to set up wet oil paintings to dry.I hang some framed paintings on the walls and tack some unframed watercolors up. Some are old favorites and some are new. Unframed , dry oil paintings are stored under the table.

Spring and Fall are very busy times for artists because most art events happen at that time. It helps if my studio is as organized as possible. Which is difficult!! I will be on the first Friday in May West Chester Gallery Walk, the Chester County Studio Tour May 18th and 19th and Crafted in Eagleview on June 9th. Thanks for visiting with me! I hope to see you soon!!

Through the non-silver/alternative photographic process known as the cyanotype, I create lensless photographs called photograms by placing the object over the light-sensitive emulsion. After composing the image, I expose it to the sun. What results is the silhouette of the plant in white against a rich Prussian blue background.

My upbringing on Maryland’s Eastern Shore has informed much of my work to date. The natural world: water and wetlands have been the focus of my life and are at the very roots of my being. I am fascinated by the way the natural world informs our everyday, the mysteries that plants provide if we take the time to look closely, the abstract qualities of wetlands and the water’s edge and the peace that only the natural world can afford. Without the “spaces in-between” much of life would not exist, as we know it. The transitional space has always held my attention and stands as a metaphor in my life on many levels. My latest works have been a study of plants that surround us here in southeastern PA. I love tromping through the mud and muck in order to get the best specimen and consider it just as much a part of my creative process as the creation of each piece.

A Teaser

We’re so excited for 2019 CRAFTED! As you can tell from the homepage gallery, we have an incredible collection of artists and crafters for you this year.

We wanted to kick off our 2019 blog by introducing you to a newcomer, Emaye Design, taking a fresh look at jewelry design. Their application made our heads turn with the textural mix of laser cut wood and thread.

As Architectural Designers we are constantly using our creativity and technical skills to detail buildings. A lot of our inspiration and expertise carries into our jewelry design and company, Emaye Design. We design, make and sell wood laser cut earrings and necklaces. We use a laser cutter to cut each piece out of maple wood, then hand assemble with chain or cotton thread. For our threaded pieces, we offer a few colors: Sky Blue, Dusty Rose, Dark Walnut, and Sage Green.

Through our jewelry we aim to empower women. We hope our customers feel both confident and beautiful while wearing our designs. In addition, 10% of each sale we donate to a local women's shelter, Laurel House.

Enjoy a Sneak Peek!

Virginia Kerslake: Side Stitch by Ginny

A career opportunity for my husband and a sense of adventure brought our family from Ontario to Pennsylvania in 2004. While it was strange to leave my work managing an analytical service laboratory, it was exciting to wonder where the road might take me. First it lead us to our new home , built in 1797, and busy years raising two sons and all the hockey and lacrosse that goes along with it. And eventually it lead to a sewing machine, surprising me as much as anyone! I bought the machine to sew a pretty apron for a niece who was getting married. In looking online for fabric ( on Etsy!) I was amazed at all the gorgeous fabrics out there, particularly designer quilting cottons. I ended up buying fabrics for several aprons simply because I couldn't decide!

With my new found love of fabrics (and a sewing machine) I began creating. Aprons lead to hairbands, yoga mat bags, custom made skirts, table runners, bags, baskets, baby blankets, lavender sachets, pillows, upholstery....... I discovered that I love mixing fabrics to create a unique and pleasing look. And I love creating things that others enjoy and find useful, beautiful and fun. And so Side Stitch by Ginny was born.

I am grateful for where the road has lead. It's a joy to have something of my own and to be doing something I love. I hope you enjoy these Side Stitch things as much as I love making them!

Margaret Mace: Pure Scents Candle Company

Pure Scents Candle Company is a family owned and operated business, located in West Chester ,Pennsylvania. We have worked hard to earn our reputation for exceptional quality candles and outstanding customer service. Each candle is hand poured, many to order. Our customers support us based on personal experience and word of mouth.

Our all natural soy candles are made with American grown soy vegetable wax, lead free, all cotton wicks and are drenched in pure fragrance oils...it's what sets us apart from the rest.Every candle is hand poured to ensure you of the highest quality. We add the maximum amount of phthalate free fragrance oil and mix it throughout the candle, so the fragrance lasts as long as the candle.